The dragon comes to life as Toby Olié plucks it by the tail. He spins it into a spiral through the air and, as quickly as ripping off a band-aid, tears the creature in two. “Even when he was curled up on the ground,” the puppet designer says, loosening another of the dragon’s joints, “it … Read more
It is a gray spring morning in London and on the sidewalk in Covent Garden there is a box containing the head of an old woman. Or rather: parts of it. The head is in pieces because it wouldn’t fit: it’s about eight feet long and even wider, with eyes as big as cauldrons, teeth … Read more
When Hayao Miyazaki pitched “The Boy and the Heron” (GKids, now in select LA and NYC theaters) to Studio Ghibli co-founder/producer Toshio Suzuki in 2016, he asked permission to make the story about himself. This surprised Suzuki – his then friend of almost 40 years –; the legendary anime director isn’t known for getting so … Read more